Watch our new HD video production to get ideas of easy meals you can create while living in your vehicle. I’ve been sleeping in my 1986 Volkswagen Vanagon GL, or vandwelling for eight months straight now. Being out there, and doing IT, teaches you what it takes to plan for a long road trip. However, maybe this blog post will inspire you to do more car camping. It’s been an amazing experience, and my pleasure to share with you. I’m so glad I’ve been able to see more of the Pacific Northwest while I’m young, wild, and free. Now I just need to find more stickers to paste on my VW Bus.

Many food suggestions shown in the YouTube video are also ideal for backpacking, because they are ready instantly with hot water. Other dishes, or side meals are fully prepared for consumption as is, such as the individually wrapped granola bars. I also eat plenty of fresh organic fruit, and drink spring or distilled water. No tap.

Tip: Use different sizes of Ziploc bags to store food items in, and label each kit with a permanent pen. You can compact the plastic storage sacks, and take most of the air out of them, so they are almost vacuum sealed, and take up minimal space. Then put the locked baggies in larger bins, or the pockets of your Everyday Carry backpack for safekeeping.

1986 VW Vanagon getting it done

Please SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube Channel HERE! I will follow back if you make similar videos. Like, comment, and share this blog post with friends. Let us know if you are vandweller, and what your setup looks like. Visit the Survival Bros HD Videos page above for all of the latest adventures.

Survival Bros is in Champaign, Illinois with the news. Cameron McKirdy films an HD video in the middle of a huge winter snow storm they are calling Nika. Roads are covered in dangerous ice, with packed snow on top making for bad driving conditions. Don’t try to commute unless you have a 4×4 truck, or something with excellent traction, and considerable weight. This weather is brutal on your skin, so use as much protection as possible, such as ChapStick and hand lotion. Cam is wearing a Hoo-Rag bandana on his face to stay warm, and has epic GOR-TEX gloves from Trekmates out of the UK. Check those brands out, and get prepared. Unfortunately, the worst Winter weather is yet to come. Tomorrow Survival Bros will be enduring temperatures near zero degrees. Cam will have another cold weather update for you soon. Thanks for watching. Please subscribe to us on Youtube, and follow this emergency preparedness blog via email. Be safe. Peace.

How’d you like to drive on this? Road conditions keep getting worse. To be continued…

A delivery bike quipped for an arctic blast in Champaign, IL.

The roads are clear here now, but it got down to -25 last night.

Mother Nature had no mercy this morning. I wore shorts to suffer for fun. I got lots of looks and almost caused a few accidents. Ladies like my calves. It would be a shame not to show them. Seriously though, it was so cold my teeth hurt from breathing. Back in Oregon my friends and family are dealing with tons of unexpected snow. Hopefully they are safe, and have food and supplies stockpiled for events like this. More soon!

One of the most popular every day carry knives is the Kershaw Chive designed by Ken Onion. This sly blade features the patented SpeedSafe assisted opening, giving it a remarkable feel. In the HD video I put the knife to the test, slicing a can, plastic bottle, different types of cordage, and much more. On Youtube I couldn’t find anyone doing a legit cut test with the Chive, so I made an extreme one.

I was genuinely surprised to see that the Kershaw didn’t dull after cutting the soda can. I muscled through the bottom, and I was sure it would damage the blade, or at least scratch the titanium-oxide rainbow coating. But even after that, I was able to shave off a good chunk of arm hair in a few strokes. The knife did everything I wanted it to, making it a perfect EDC tool. It’s ultra lightweight too, at only 1.7 ounces.

The Chive comes in a wide variety of colors, some with different handle materials, but the Rainbow version is the most expensive. There’s nothing girly about it. The wild coating reminds me of an oil slick, which are always interesting to look at. I like the stepped thumb studs, because they are rigid, making the small 1 15/16″ blade easy to open. However, I prefer to use the flipper on the back, because I feel it’s a little safer, and there’s no chance of slicing my thumb on deployment. It does have a solid tip-lock system for safety, so the knife won’t open when you pull it out of your pocket. In addition, I love the long, sturdy pocket clip. It’s not rainbow, just polished steel with the Kershaw logo etched down it. Plus, the jimping on the top of the blade gives you more control, which is good because the Chive is small, and somewhat slick due to the coating.

At the end of the day, the Kershaw Chive is a legend. Trust me, you want one. It makes a great keychain knife, and if you carry it on you, you’ll use it daily. For additional tech specs, and to view other models, visit http://kershaw.kaiusaltd.com/ Thanks for visiting and supporting Survival Bros – your emergency preparedness blog. Comments, likes, and shares are appreciated. What knife would you like me to test next, and what should I destroy with it? Peace.